March 2018

Broker-to-Broker Recommended Reading — The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. Click here to read part one.

Mansion seller sues Zillow over hidden Zestimates — In the latest bit of pushback against Zillow, the owner of a New Jersey mansion has filed an antitrust suit against the creator of Zestimates.
Read an archive article, Homeowner sues Zillow over "sloppy" value estimate.

February 2018

January 2018

Family of slain Realtor sues broker for negligence, wrongful death — Three years after Arkansas agent Beverly Carter was murdered while showing a home, her family sued her brokerage, claiming the company bears part of the blame. See a copy of the Carter familys lawsuit.

Off-market listings soar in some markets — Most homes for sale are posted on multiple listing services, but a few metro areas are seeing high numbers of pocket listings. Read an archive article that gives a brief background on pocket listings.

Broker-to-Broker Recommended Reading — The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. Click here to read chapters one and two.

December 2017

As cybercrime proliferates, heres how to stay safe — There are ways to make your company and your agents harder targets for cybercriminals. Read the Data Security and Privacy Toolkit created by the NAR Legal Team.

November 2017

So many leads, so few closings: Tips for converting online prospects — If youre paying for online leads but not following up
on them promptly, professionally, and persuasively, youre wasting your precious marketing budget. Watch a video showing Rachel Adams online lead conversion tactics.

Fewer than half of brokers have clearly communicated safety policies
— The National Association of Realtors has made agent safety a priority after the murder of Beverly Carter, an Arkansas agent who was killed in 2014 while showing a home to criminals posing as buyers. See the NARs 2017 Member Safety Report. (Registration required)

October 2017

WOOP: Four steps for truly harnessing the power of positive thinking — Empirical studies show the impact of positive thought is more complex than many self-help gurus suggest. See Gabriele Oettingen speak about the limits of positive thinking.

September 2017

Realtor association revenue growth outpaces CEO pay in 2015 — The nations 60 largest Realtor organizations pulled in some $600 million in revenue in 2015, and they paid their CEOs more than $20 million, according to
Real Estate Brokers Insiders annual analysis of tax returns filed by national, state, and regional associations.

August 2017

With in-office coffee bar, high-traffic location, young broker goes old-school — California broker Troy Palmquist owns The Address in Oxnard, CA, and his first office is in a high-traffic retail space. See photos of his Starbucks-like space which includes a leather couch and a bar with coffee, beer and kambucha on tap.

Commissions will remain under intense pressure, industry disruptors say
— Real estate commissions mostly have defied the predictions of the doomsayers who anticipate brokerage fees will plummet. But the onslaught continues, this time from
British discounter Purplebricks, which plans an ambitious expansion into the U.S. real estate market. Learn more about the Purplebricks British invasion.

July 2017

Homeowner sues Zillow over "sloppy" value estimate, predicts more pushback — Since 2006, Zillow has been posting "Zestimates" of property values and for just as long, homeowners and agents have griped about what they consider inaccurate estimates.
See disgruntled seller Barbara Andersens lawsuit against Zillow.

June 2017

With inventories tight, try door knocking — If your buyer is eager to buy but faces a lack of inventory, get aggressive about ferreting out homes that arent on the market. See more tips from sales coach, Tom Ferry.

ALTA warns consumers of scams — Home buyers are being targeted by wire fraud schemes aiming to poach funds for real estate closings. The Federal Trade Commission provides the publication, Start with Security: A Guide for Business to help business owners protect themselves.

May 2017

British discounter plans ambitious expansion into U.S. market — Purplebricks Group, a company that has ruffled feathers in Britain’s real estate market, says it aims to spend $60 million to expand in the United States. Watch some of Purplebricks’ cheeky adverts.

January 2017

December 2016

Hard-nosed approach? Discount brokers tout savings by cutting out buyer agents
— Amid a renewed focus on discounted commissions, a new breed of brokers is offering a sharp-elbowed way for sellers to save money.
The strategy: Cut buyers agents — and their 3 percent commissions — out of deals. Watch a marketing video from 3in3 Realty that explains this idea.

November 2016

Leader of fast-growing team uses old, new strategies to drive expansion
— Bob Lucido of Keller Williams Integrity was skeptical of predictive analytics until he decided to give it a try. He phoned owners pinpointed by analytics, and was surprised to learn that many were in fact considering a move. For more on how brokers are using this technology, read the archive article, Real estate industry turns to predictive analytics to refine marketing efforts.

October 2016

Century 21 dominates J.D. Power survey yet again
— J.D. Power graded five national brokerage brands on a 1,000-point scale that considers such factors as the service provided by the agent, the quality of the agents office, and the ease of the closing process. See the
full rankings.

September 2016

In new wave of consolidation, merger activity heats up
— The summer buying season was an active one, as consumers snapped up homes. Brokers did some shopping of their own, as evidenced by several announcements in July of large mergers. Read an archive article on Merle Whiteheads tips for successfully negotiating mergers.

Broker experiments with Internet lead routing, navigates difficult dance
— Brokers around the country have struggled to make sense of Internet leads. At Long Realty in Arizona, broker Rosey Koberlein created an iTeam — for Internet team — of agents whose sole focus is to work Internet leads. Learn about the iTeam here.

July 2016

Changing of the guard at your company? Start early, this broker says
— Call it the curse of succession planning: No matter how precisely the parties lay out their plans, its not an easy process. Read an archive article about family succession planning here.

Gulf continues to widen between most expensive, cheapest housing markets
— In a trend that threatens geographic mobility, home prices in some fast-appreciating markets are way out of reach for denizens of flyover country. See a chart showing prices in fast- and slow-appreciating metro areas over the past 20 years.

Texas cities lead in population growth — Texas cities small and large were among the fastest-growing in the nation from 2014 to 2015, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. Click here for a map of the nations boomtowns and ghost towns.

June 2016

Realtor association revenue, executive pay on the rise —
The nations 60 largest Realtor organizations pulled in more than half a billion dollars in revenue in 2014, and they paid their CEOs more than $20 million.
Thats according to Real Estate Brokers Insiders analysis of tax returns filed by national, state, and regional associations. See the interactive charts below:

May 2016

Brokers say online testimonials are scary at first, useful in long run —
Want to solicit testimonials on your own? Asking the right questions is essential, says Matthew Bush of online marketing firm Placester. See his blog post here.

Always list on Thursday, never Sunday, and other lessons from Redfins data dive —
Redfin finds that homes listed on a Thursday sell for an average premium of $1,258. Wednesday is the second-best day of the week; homes listed then bring an average premium of $876. Read the Redfin blog post on spring selling tips here.

April 2016

Commission rates fall to record lows, but higher sales volumes offset squeeze —
A new breed of real estate startups is putting renewed pressure on real estate commissions. SoloPro, for instance, markets itself as a platform that connects price-conscious consumers with agents who are willing to work for less than full commission. See SoloPros commercial targeting real estate commissions here.

March 2016

Military discipline drives brokerages growth —
Todd Hetherington, owner of Century 21 New Millennium of Alexandria, VA, attributes his success in large part to his hiring strategy. Hes picky about agents, and he prefers to hire managers from outside the real estate industry.
For more about Todd Hetheringtons unconventional approach to hiring managers
click here.

Broker finds success with do-it-yourself Facebook ads —
Social media is all about consistency.
Try using John Mayfields
social media checklist.

Home sales to cool in 2016 —
After robust growth in home sales in 2015, the housing market is likely to take a breather in 2016, the National Association of Realtors predicts.
View an
infographic outlining NARs 2016 forecast.

February 2016

If middle class is disappearing, how might housing market change? —
Income inequality is widening, and the middle class is shrinking. If these trends continue, there simply might be fewer Americans who can afford to buy homes.
See the
Pew Research Centers report on the dwindling middle class here.

January 2016

Safety step No. 1: Insist on ID from all new clients —
Showing homes has long been a risky occupation, but the dangers faced by Realtors grabbed headlines in 2014, when an Arkansas agent was murdered by a man posing as a buyer. See a
safety quiz that you can use to train your agents.

As feds loosen rules, drone footage of listings grows more common —
As the Federal Aviation Administration relaxes rules on commercial use of unmanned aerial vehicles, drone footage has grown more common in real estate marketing. Click here to see drone video of two high-end listings.

Weak income growth undermines housing recovery —
In the past four years, home prices have jumped 34 percent nationally. In the same period, household incomes rose only 2.5 percent.
That mismatch has undermined the housing recovery, and the disconnect has created affordability challenges for middle-income workers. How much are prices up in your state? See an interactive map here.

November 2015

New mortgage rules expected to create early hiccups —
Under the federal Know Before You Owe guidelines, familiar closing documents have been replaced with new forms known as the loan estimate and the closing disclosure. The goal of the new forms is to help consumers shop around and more easily understand the costs of a loan. See a copy of the
new loan estimate form.

October 2015

RE/MAX teaches brokers how to coach agents — again —
The real estate industry has spawned a cottage industry of independent coaches who work one-on-one with agents.
RE/MAX Regional Services is offering an alternative to that model: Its teaching brokers how to coach agents. Read an excerpt from RE/MAX Regional Services coaching materials here.

Banks step up repos —
Bucking the trend of a healthier housing market, foreclosure filings jumped 14 percent from July 2014 to July 2015, RealtyTrac says. Click here to see a state-by-state map of foreclosure rates.

September 2015

Century 21 sweeps top spots in J.D. Power survey — again —
J.D. Powers rankings looked at five national franchises: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, and RE/MAX. See the full rankings here.

Millennials favor walking, biking over driving —
Millennials prefer walking over driving by a wider margin than any other generation, according to a poll by the National Association of Realtors and the Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University. Click here for an infographic.

August 2015

Feeling tired? One of the eight brain-aging sins might be to blame —
Overwork is a costly mistake that can leave you old beyond your years, argues Marcel Daane, an expert in neuroscience and performance. Watch his video Why My Brain Hates Exercise.

August 2015

Feeling tired? One of the eight brain-aging sins might be to blame —
Overwork is a costly mistake that can leave you old beyond your years, argues Marcel Daane, an expert in neuroscience and performance. Watch his video Why My Brain Hates Exercise.

July 2015

Mind the gap: Gulf widens between most expensive, cheapest housing markets —
As recently as 1997, the typical home sold in San Francisco cost only 2.5 times as much as the typical home sold in the United States. Fast forward 18 years, and the median-priced crib in San Francisco ($907,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders) costs four times as much as the typical home nationally ($210,000). See an interactive map comparing how much income is needed to buy a typical house in 30 cities.

June 2015

Creativity, willingness to fail characterize tech-savvy brokers approach —
Taking its cues from Silicon Valley rather than real estate brokerages, the Better Homes and Gardens Go Realty office boasts an open floor plan and hip décor. See a brief video tour of the office.

May 2015

Want to move a mansion? Try making it the star of its own movie —
When it comes to marketing mansions, the standard package of crisply shot photos, glossy brochures, and online ads are old hat. The next big thing? A professionally shot movie to market the property. Click here to see one of Film Houses marketing movies.

Sun Belt posts population increases, while Rust Belt loses —
Metro areas in Florida and Texas are gaining population and adding jobs, while Detroit and Cleveland are losing people and lagging in job growth, according to the latest figures from the Census Bureau and the Labor Department. See Real Estate Brokers Insiders data visualization of home-value trends in major metro areas.

April 2015

Looking for a smoother succession plan? Pitfalls abound —
Succession planning is a tricky issue even for large and sophisticated companies, but it can be especially fraught for real estate brokers, who often lack the expertise to pick and groom their replacement. Click here to read the archive article Five Steps to a Succession Plan.

March 2015

Stroking egos, buying PayDay bars, and other tips for filling seats in your company —
Denise Lones of The Lones Group shares her spreadsheet for keeping track of agent recruits. Page 1 includes instructions, page 2 helps you track your progress.

As more agents start teams, learn to coach them through management challenges —
With real estate teams all the rage, savvy brokers are learning how to coach successful agents through the process of building a multi-person sales operation. Click here to see Pam Ermen discuss the five stages of business growth.

February 2015

Burned out? Follow these habits to boost energy and get out of your rut —
The real estate business isnt getting any simpler or easier. But that harsh reality need not be depressing, says Jon Gordon author of the bestseller The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy.
Click here to see Gordons Energy Bus Action Plan.

Seven strategies for landing listings in a sellers market —
Inventory is tight in much of the nation, creating what real estate coach Bruce Gardner calls a raging seller’s market.
That means listings are at a premium — and if your agents learn how to land listings (even if that means door-knocking), theyll do well. Read the archive article Broker requires agents to knock on doors, and leads by example.

December 2014

Wave of marijuana legalization raises disclosure issues, creates conflict between federal, state laws — The legalization of pot has brought Colorados cannabis cultivation out of the shadow. It also has created what Denver broker Jack O’Connor calls a disclosure nightmare. See the Institute of Real Estate Managements white paper on marijuana legalization.

September 2014

To use drones or not? Brokers who brave the skies face nasty letters from FAA — Patrick Parker, head of the 20-agent Patrick Parker Realty in Bradley Beach, NJ, turned to drones as a way to offer something new and different to clients, and to signal his agencys willingness to stay on the cutting edge of technology. See how the drone footage is incorporated into a traditional video.

August 2014

Zillow overtakes Realogy as industrys most valuable company — Zillow may be seen as an interloper that makes unreliable judgments about home values, but the company is a Wall Street darling. See an infographic that shows the growing financial power of Zillow.

July 2014

At Realtor associations, revenue bounces back, but CEO pay climbs more — Click to see an interactive graphic showing revenue and compensation for 25 large Realtor associations.

Realtor.com: Our listings are right — In an obvious swipe at Zillow and Trulia, Realtor.com is launching a national advertising campaign titled Accuracy Matters. See a Realtor.com ad.

June 2014

Real estate industry turns to predictive analytics to refine marketing efforts — Jay Macklin, part of a husband-and-wife team at RE/MAX Platinum Living in Scottsdale, AZ, has been using SmartZip Analytics to decide which homeowners to call. In the first year, he closed six deals as a result. Here is the letter and postcard that he sends to prospects.

May 2014

Gen Y upbeat about housing market — They face high unemployment rates and daunting student debt, but young home buyers remain optimistic about the housing market, the National Association of Realtors says. Read the report, Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends.

Cloud-based brokerage goes public, sells shares to agents — Virtual brokers have been popping up nationwide, but broker Glenn Sanford serves up
a new twist on the low-overhead model. See Sanford
discuss his cloudbased brokerage model in this video.

March 2014

Syndicator bashing continues as brokers in Tennessee, Texas ditch Zillow,
Trulia — Crye-Leike Real Estate Services cofounder Harold Crye could hardly
be madder at Zillow and Trulia. Hes yanking listings from the aggregation
sites and publicly accusing the companies of extortion. Crye is not the
first to leave the syndicators. Learn about Edina Realtys decision to leave
Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com in this archive article.

Home flipping makes a comeback — In a trend that promises more transactions for deal-hungry agents, home flipping
increased sharply in 2013. See RealtyTrac charts illustrating flipping
trends.

February 2014

Renting gains ground, Harvard study says — The nations share of renters
grew from 31 percent in 2004 to 35 percent in 2012 as millions of Americans
found themselves unable to qualify for mortgages, according to a new report
by Harvards Joint Center for Housing Studies. Read the report: Americas
Rental Housing: Evolving Markets and Needs.

January 2014

As pocket listings reach "epidemic" levels, experts worry about legal,
ethical pitfalls — In some parts of California, more than a quarter of
homes go up for sale without being marketed in the multiple listing service.

The surge in so-called pocket listings has created no shortage of
consternation in the real estate establishment. Critics of off-MLS deals
worry that agents are placing their own commissions ahead of the goal of
getting the best price for sellers — and perhaps putting the entire industry
at risk. View Elizabeth Miller-Bougdanos presentation to the California
Association of Realtors.

December 2013

Broker uses lead-tracking software to track conversions — After tracking
the performance of his agents, Broker Larry Dean has set up an ideal
lead follow-up schedule. The five steps appear in the December issue of
Real Estate Brokers Insider. See a brief demo of the Pipeline ROI
software.

With inventories still low, agents forced to get creative to find listings
— Read this archive article on how one broker is succeeding with off-market transactions.

Flood insurance rate hikes roil resale market — New rules for flood
insurance have caused price spikes for homeowners and scotched sales for
Realtors. One reason for a price increase is lack of an elevation
certificate. Click here for FEMA guidelines on elevation certificates.

November 2013

In unusual offering, broker renovates houses, then lists them — Renovation
Realty of La Mesa, CA, has taken the popular practice of staging homes a step farther. It
performs full-fledged upgrades, such as replacing bathrooms, upgrading
kitchens, and replacing carpet. See how Renovation Realty advertises its
unique service in this television commercial.

October 2013

At Realtor associations, CEO pay falls slightly, but revenue drops more —
This year, the nations nonprofit Realtor associations put the lid on
ever-rising pay for top executives. See Real Estate Brokers Insiders exclusive analysis of revenue and compensation for 25 large Realtor associations.

Online listing sites key to one brokers success, local TV ads drives
anothers — For McGeough & Lamacchia Realty in Waltham, MA, local television ads have proven a lucrative source of leads. The company bombards the local
airwaves with ads, spending a sum Anthony Lamacchia describes as in the high hundreds of
thousands a year. View ads here.

Meanwhile, Ben Croushore, owner of Prudential Preferred Realty in
Pittsburgh, is paying for featured listings on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com,
and Homes.com. Some brokers disagree with this strategy. See why in this
article from the March 2012 issue of Real Estate Brokers Insider.

September 2013

Six ways to make your listing presentations stand out — Call it the plague
of PowerPoint. For years, the real estate industry has assaulted the public
with listing presentations that are boring, banal, or just plain bad. The
September issue of Real Estate Brokers
Insider provides five tips for
improving listing presentations. Here are additional ideas, which focus on
the visual presentation.

August 2013

How to land FSBOs? Use systems to stay in touch — With prices rising and
marketing times falling, homeowners again have been emboldened to try to
sell without hiring a Realtor. The August issue of Real Estate Brokers
Insider shares secrets for success. Here are more ideas from John Maloof
author of Real Estate Agents Guide to FSBOs.

July 2013

MLS executive says consolidation would help consumers, agents — While a
nationwide MLS remains farfetched, the real estate industry would be wise to
consolidate MLSs in a way that would make data more readily available to
consumers, says Cameron Paine, chief executive officer of Connecticut
Multiple Listing Service. Read his full report, The Future of the MLS.

June 2013

Broker gives agents higher splits for getting tattoo of company logo — At
Rapid Realty in New York City, 38 agents have gotten tattoos of the
companys green-and-black logo. We are reminded of other gimmicks covered in
Real Estate Brokers Insider. Such as:

Broker pays $45,000 in disability-discrimination case — In a reminder of
the high cost of housing discrimination settlements, Coldwell Banker
Residential Brokerage agreed to pay $45,000 after an agent passed along a
sellers demand that his property not be sold as a group home for disabled
people. Free HUD posters can keep discrimination issues top of mind for
agents.

May 2013

To boost chances of recruiting success, create transition plan — As you
ramp up recruiting for an improving market, dont forget the importance of a formal transition plan to help smooth the new recruits move, says real estate coach Carla Cross in the May issue
of Real Estate Brokers Insider. Cross shares a copy of her transition
checklist with readers.

April 2013

Cold calling is frustrating work, but it pays off for some agents — Dale
Lampertz shares details of a recent Baylor University study including the
cold-calling script used by agents.

Brokers Twitter-like app lets agents market properties to each other — The
April issue of Real Estate Brokers Insider discusses a new app developed by
@properties cofounder Thaddeus Wong. Wong was also featured in a
Broker-to-Broker profile.

March 2013

Beta Brokers run their own media mini-empires — Video, social networking,
and other savvy uses of digital media form a common thread among the
companies named to Better Homes and Gardens latest Beta Brokerages list.
Learn more about the individual Beta Brokers at the BH&G website.

Century 21s Super Bowl ads get tepid reviews, but attention is the point —
The March issue of Real Estate Brokers Insider focused on C21s goals for
its super bowl ads. See the ads here.

German brokerage brings European style to U.S. offices — Brick and mortar offices are essential for Engel & Volkers. The sleek design and welcoming vibe make them real stand outs.

February 2013

Honesty and caring are key to sales success, brokers say — Before they
racked up $1 billion in home sales in 10 years, Joseph and JoAnn Callaway
were broke and inexperienced agents who didnt seem destined for success in
real estate.

Then the couple stumbled upon their philosophy of Clients First, and they
saw their fortunes turn. The couple, retell the story in their new book,
Clients First: The Two-Word Miracle. The February issue of Real Estate Brokers Insider provides highlights of their most important lessons. Youll
find additional insights in this sample chapter.

January 2013

FSBO sales remain low, even with stronger market, NAR study finds — The
2012 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers has
been released. For additional highlights, not covered in Real Estate Brokers Insider, you may download the summary report.

I love the new section [Broker-to-Broker]. These people are extremely generous in sharing their successes. — Broker/Owner Albany, NY To say that the article on [Realtor] associations was eye-opening would be an understatement. We are now rethinking our own memberships. — Team LeaderTempe, AZ Keep up the good work. Ive shared many ideas from the Insider with our management team this year. — OwnerNashua, NH